Article below from Lansing state journal that references Drinks with the Kid Rock-MBC development...
Webberville brewery plans to produce Kid Rock beer
Tax break helps effort that could create 160-plus jobs
Jeremy W. Steele • jwsteele@lsj.com • February 18, 2009 • From Lansing State Journal
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WEBBERVILLE - Michigan Brewing Co. plans to make a new beer for musician Kid Rock, creating new jobs in the process.
The Webberville brewery was awarded a $722,957 state tax credit over seven years to make the rock star's line of suds, the Michigan Economic Development Corp. said Tuesday.
Michigan Brewing President and Chief Executive Officer Bobby Mason said he plans to begin producing an American lager this spring with Kid Rock and Wilton, Conn.-based marketer and distributor Drinks Americas Inc.
"So far he's liking what he's seeing," Mason said of the Michigan-native rocker, whose real name is Robert J. Ritchie.
Michigan Brewing plans to invest $7 million into equipment for the project. State officials said the brewery competed with facilities in Minnesota and Pennsylvania.
The village of Webberville is expected to offer a 50 percent property tax abatement for up to 12 years for the new equipment.
Mason expects to hire 50 to 60 people in the next year for sales, bottling, brewing, maintenance and other jobs.
The brewery now has eight full-time employees and "a couple handfuls" of part-time workers, he said.
State officials estimate the project will create 161 jobs directly and could help spur 233 jobs at other area businesses during the span of the tax credit.
Drinks Americas, which has several beverage lines connected to celebrities, announced plans in September to make a beer with Kid Rock.
Spokespeople for Kid Rock and Drinks Americas didn't respond to requests for comment.
In a December letter to shareholders, Drinks Americas CEO J. Patrick Kenny said the company is on track for a spring launch.
Targeting star's fans
"We can emphatically state now, we will build distribution in a measured pace from the Midwest out to both coasts and plan to target Kid Rock's demographic right from the start," Kenny said in the letter.
Drinks Americas' beverage line includes Trump Super Premium Vodka with Donald Trump and Willie Nelson's Old Whiskey River Bourbon.
Michigan Brewing was founded in 1995.
It shares a 76,000-square-foot facility with Michigan State University's Bio-Refinery Training Facility, which does biofuels and bio-based chemicals work.
Multistate sales
The brewery has a capacity of 54,000 barrels per year. Its beer is distributed in Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, New York, Texas, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Indiana and Minnesota.
It's been an important, although atypical, tenant for Webberville's industrial park, village council Trustee Tom Oliver said.
Oliver hopes the brewery's growth can bring new customers for other businesses and new residents to the village.
"We think it can be an advantage," he said.
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